Tours and Trips in Kota Kinabalu

Unless you speak Malay, navigating the Kota Belud Sunday market can be a difficult task. Discover the best of the weekly shopping bonanza, and return home with the most memorable souvenirs, after a stress-free day trip from Kota Kinabalu. Exploring the market with a guide means that you'll have chance to practice your bargaining skills as well as gaining insight into the culture and history of Kota Belud. 

Venture into the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Mt Kinabaly and hike across Kinabalu Park in this incredible full-day tour that includes hot springs, rolling hills, epic scenery and birds-eye-views from atop forest canopies. Your expert local guide will take you through some of Malaysia's most picturesque countryside and point out indigenous flora and fauna along the way. Enjoy a savory local lunch and a relaxing dip in the Poring Hot Springs on this memorable day trip.

Tap into the lively rhythms and frenzied activity of Kota Kinabalu after dark during this 3-hour nighttime cultural tour and dance performance. Bargain for souvenirs at the bustling night market, then marvel at the twinkling city lights from the Signal Hill observation deck. Cap it all off with a Sabah-style dance performance and included dinner.

See the Malaysian countryside beyond the city of Kota Kinabalu with this combo tour that visits a nature park and hot spring. Start the day with a scenic drive along mountain roads in the Crocker range. Pass local villages and make a brief stop at Nabalu to shop at stalls selling fruit, produce, and local handicrafts. Next, arrive at Kinabalu Park for a guided nature walk. Continue on to Poring Hot Spring for a sulphur bath.

Encounter Borneo's traditional cultures at Mari Mari Cultural Village, where you'll get a glimpse into the daily routines and rituals of five major cultural groups. You'll see each group's distinctive houses, costumes, and practices, with a guide to help explain each thing you encounter, then see a performance that brings traditional Borneo to vivid life. After your time exploring Mari Mari Cultural Village, this tour includes a traditional meal in the village's dining hall.

Ride a Vulcan Steam Engine dating from 1896 on the North Borneo Railway during a hassle-free tour. Retrace a colonial trade route through villages, countryside, and tunnels, and pass mangrove forests and rivers for spectacular views of scenery that's mostly inaccessible by traditional tour vehicle. Stop at a number of villages, where there's a chance to visit markets and chat with local people. Plus, lunch and round-trip hotel transfers are included. 

Explore Borneo's indigenous cultures on a half-day trip from Kota Kinabalu to Mari Mari Cultural Village, which features traditional houses, crafts, and bushcraft recreated by members of each tribe in Sabah. You'll see local people making blowpipes and kindling bamboo fires, then learn the symbolism behind Sabah's long tradition of tattooing. With pickup and drop-off at hotels in Kota Kinabalu, this tour includes entrance fees and lunch.

Explore beautiful dive spots off the coast of Sabah on this 6-hour scuba-diving experience in Tunku Abdul Rahman Park from Kota Kinabalu. Hop aboard your speedboat with your guide and zoom into the Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park, home to dive sites suited to certified divers of all levels. Visit two dive sites around Manukan Island and enjoy 45-minute dives with your guide at each one. Search the coral for colorful sea life including clownfish and snapper, and keep your eyes open for graceful stingrays, turtles and blue-spotted octopus.

Explore a weekly, open-air market on a 5-hour, small-group trip to Tamu Kota Belud Sunday market from Kota Kinabalu that includes hotel pickup and drop-off. Join a bustling crowd of Sabah's fisherman, farmers, and horseman at the traditional market, while traders haggle for goods from around the region, and vendors hawk farm-fresh produce and snacks in bright displays.

A short drive out of Kota Kinabalu, the Mari Mari Cultural Village provides a convenient opportunity to experience many of Borneo's unique cultures in a purpose-built cultural village. Learn about the tribes' traditional dances, cuisines and ways of thriving in Borneo's challenging jungle. For visitors who can only stay in Borneo briefly, this experience offers a chance to see how Borneo's cultural diversity matches its biodiversity.

Visit Kinabalu Park on a full-day trip from Kota Kinabalu that's a great way to experience southeast Asia's highest peak without the grueling, overnight hike to the summit of Mount Kinabalu. A guided trail hike explores native plants, and you'll have time to browse the cultural and nature exhibits at Kinabalu Park's Exhibition Hall before returning to the coast.

Escape the city and journey to the paradise islands off the coast of Kota Kinabalu on a hassle-free day trip to Manukan Island. Let a guide take care of transfers, entrance fees, and activities as you sit back, relax, and enjoy the white sands and crystal-clear waters of the island. You'll have chance to snorkel and hike in the jungle, and benefit from the in-depth knowledge of a guide.

See the highlights of the west coast of Sabah without the hassle of a hiring a car on this full-day guided tour. Kinabalu Park, Malaysia's first UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the focus of the tour. Meet some of the 5000 vascular plant species, 300 bird species or 100 lowland mammals that make this national park their home. Swing by the Poring Hot Spring, where locals consider the sulphuric mineral waters have therapeutic properties, before returning to Kota Kinabalu.

Visit the national park that surrounds Mount Kinabalu on a full-day tour from Kota Kinabalu to Kinabalu Park and Poring Hot Springs, and experience Malaysia's first UNESCO World Heritage Site. This 10-hour nature tour is limited to 7 participants for a personalized experience, so you have plenty of time to hike nature trails, soak in mineral-rich pools, tour the rainforest canopy, and enjoy Borneo scenery at its most dramatic.

Step into the era of steam travel on a nostalgic, 4-hour voyage from Kota Kinabalu aboard the North Borneo Railway, a historic train powered by wood-fired boilers. You'll travel through a landscape of lush forest, farm fields, and small villages, with stops to visit a Buddhist temple and explore the market town of Papar, then enjoy a classic Borneo lunch served 'tiffin' style during the return trip. This 4-hour excursion includes pickup and drop-off at Kota Kinabalu hotels, lunch, and round-trip train tickets.

Make the most of your time on the 13,435-foot (4,095-meter) Mount Kinabalu, a UNESCO World Heritage Site valued for its biodiversity, on a private tour. Visit the Mountain Garden to learn about the flora and fauna of the area and hike uphill to the Canopy Walkway for views over the treetops. Exploring with a private guide means you'll receive undivided attention and benefit from insider knowledge of the natural area.

Visit one of Sabah's traditional markets and a Rungus longhouse on a 9-hour, small-group tour from Kota Kinabalu that includes coach transportation and lunch. See Borneo's diverse cultures first hand at the Sunday market and Bavanggazo village, where locals raise bees and crafts traditional gongs.

Experience the beauty of Kota Kinabalu without worrying about the hassle of transportation with this 3-hour, small-group tour of the city. Ride in the comfort of an air-conditioned vehicle as you stop at some of the city's best-known sites. Visit the University of Malaysia, the museum complex at the Sabah State Museum and Heritage Village, the Kota Kinabalu City Mosque, and Signal Hill Observatory Platform.

Summiting 13,435-foot (4,095-meter) Mount Kinabalu, the peak that adorns Sabah's state flag, is a Borneo must-do for many. To make the summit, you need to reserve your mountain guesthouse well ahead of time. Rather than piece the trip together independently, take it easy with this convenient 3-day package that includes a night at Laban Rata Resthouse, a night at Poring Hot Springs, a climbing permit, guide, meals, and round-trip transfers.

0730hrs pick up from the city hotel and proceed for about 3 hours drive to Poring Hot Springs through scenic mountainous countryside. Upon arrival, a must visit is the Treetop Canopy Walkway which 20 minutes hike is needed.